By KRISTI MAYFIELD
With new businesses coming in to Oakdale and the community growing, it is important to ensure that business owners and customers alike can learn about each other and hopefully build long standing relationships within the community. The Oakdale Chamber of Commerce recognizes this and is growing its team to further assist in this endeavor. Joining the team as the new Membership and Administrative Coordinator is Lindsey Holmes along with Mindy VanTil as the new Vice President of Marketing and Operations, who will work alongside the CEO of the Oakdale Chamber of Commerce, Cher Bairos.
Both Holmes and VanTil have been very active in community events and have strong ties to the community with Holmes working with the Youth Football Program with her sons and VanTil participating in local theatre productions such as Annie and Oliver at Oakdale High School with her children. Both Holmes and VanTil appreciate the importance of family and being part of such a close-knit, supportive community.
“What really caught my eye about this position was the strong focus on community connections,” said Holmes when noting that she was a stay-at-home mom for more than a decade and when she decided to return to work, she knew she wanted to stay local.
For VanTil, who co-owns The Shoppe on Third Avenue in town and who also works as a Marketing Consultant, the opportunity to work for the Chamber was too good to pass up.
“I’m most excited about connecting with the team and members of the Chamber and finding out where I can be the biggest asset,” said VanTil when discussing her new position.
While many in the Chamber including Bairos will miss Bri Swan, former Membership and Marketing Coordinator, they were happy to learn that she was leaving to pursue a new career opportunity.
“We will miss Bri; she was awesome but we are proud of who we selected. They are a good fit for this organization,” said Bairos.
“It was an amazing experience, working at the Chamber and the connections that I made and the chance to serve my community really inspired me,” said Swan, who said she isn’t cutting ties with the organization. “I’m excited to stay involved, give back and volunteer alongside such an incredible team.”
Though both Holmes and VanTil are new to the team they look forward to facing any challenges and finding their own unique rhythms. Both will focus on engaging with the community and are looking forward to working on events such as the Concerts in the Park, which are set to begin in July along with the Small Town Christmas, which will feature the Julia Haidlen Memorial Ice Skating Rink. Collaboration and teamwork are things that they value highly and they are looking forward to building relationships with the many businesses that serve Oakdale.
For more information regarding the Oakdale Chamber of Commerce, visit: https://oakdalecachamber.org/
